"You're overthinking it." Wan Shu ruthlessly shattered Meng Wenyuan's illusions: "I don't intend for you to stay for several years. Once we move into the new house and everything is settled, I plan to hire a tutor for Dazhu and the others."
"Right now, we just want you to lay the groundwork for them before hiring a doctor. Once your father returns in a month, you can leave whenever you want."
Subtext: Don't be so narcissistic.
Meng Wenyuan was so embarrassed that his face turned bright red, but because he was concerned about his image, he still maintained a calm expression.
He nodded casually, "Alright, that would be perfect. But studying takes a lot of time. They have so much work to do every day, will they have the time?"
Wan Shu had already planned this out.
“The autumn harvest has been over for a while now, and everyone has some free time. I plan to ask my nephews and nieces from my maternal family to come and help.”
Of course, the most important step, braising, still had to be done by her personally.
She only planned to have Shuanzi and the others be responsible for cleaning the ingredients and helping with some odd jobs.
San Shun spoke with some concern: "Mother, Second Aunt, she..."
San Shun, mindful of his relationship with Liu Shi, didn't finish his sentence, but Wan Shu understood what he meant.
He was worried that Liu's three daughters might covet the braised food recipe or take the opportunity to do something bad.
"Don't worry, your Baoyu and Baoyin are still too young. Your mother only plans to invite your Gangzi, Shuanzi, Tiezi, and your Baozhu."
San Shun was relieved to hear this. Although Bao Zhu was her second aunt's daughter, she was very sensible and would never collude with her second aunt.
There's no time like the present, so Wan Shu went to the Wan family's house after marinating the pig's head meat.
Both Zhou and Liu were very supportive of their children working at Wan Shu's house, since Wan Shu had said that they would only need to clean for half a day and each person would earn twenty coins.
You couldn't find such a good thing even with a lantern!
However, Wan's mother had some reservations: "Shu'er, it's good that you've made money now, but how much will be left after building such a big brick house? We have to be frugal. No matter how much you pamper Wuping and the others, you can't let them stay at home playing."
Wan Shu knew that her mother had misunderstood, so she explained, "Mother, I didn't mean for Wu Ping and the others to play at home. I gave them some free time so that they could take some time to study."
Wan's mother asked in surprise, "Studying?"
“Yes.” Wan Shu nodded: “Didn’t I save a young master? He’s a scholar, and because of some things, he has to stay with me temporarily for the past month. So he offered to teach Wu Ping and the others in exchange for his room and board.”
"Look at that young master, he seems so simple-minded. I never expected him to be such a precious scholar. Wu Ping and the others will all be in business in the future, so it's naturally good for them to have the opportunity to study and learn to read."
Upon learning that Wan Shu was paying for tutoring so that her five young children could attend school, Wan's mother quickly accepted the decision, but...
“Dazhu, Sanshun, and Wuping are boys, so it’s fine to spend money to send them to school. But why waste money on Erya and Siya, who are girls? Besides, there’s an old saying that a woman’s virtue lies in her lack of talent. I think it’s better to let them stay home and do chores.”
The true meaning of the saying "A woman's lack of talent is a virtue" is that even if a woman lacks talent, her ability to distinguish right from wrong is also a virtue.
This is not to say that women should not have too much knowledge and virtue.
However, the ancient idea of male superiority over females was deeply ingrained, and even if she explained it to Wan's mother, Wan's mother probably wouldn't believe her.
So she simply said, "Mother, it's not like we don't have the money to send them to school. It's good that they can study. Besides, they've always been with me in the business. I don't think they're any less than Wuping and his third brother, who are boys."
"That's true, but..." Mother Wan still couldn't quite understand.
"There's no 'but' about it!" Liu couldn't stand it any longer and interrupted, "Mother, my little sister already said that we're not short of money, so why should we mistreat Er Ya and Si Ya? Besides, even though my little sister didn't say it, we need to be clear-headed! It's my little sister's own business, and it's her own money. She can arrange it however she wants, and she doesn't have to listen to us!"
Mother Wan: "You..."
Liu's words sounded harsh, but it was true that it was Shu'er's own family matter and Shu'er's own money. Even if she was Shu'er's mother, she had no right to make Shu'er do as she was told.
For a moment, Wan's mother was speechless, and could only sigh, "Mother shouldn't have said too much. Do whatever you want."
It was getting late, so Wan Shu chatted for a few more minutes before heading out the door.
"Little sister, wait a minute! I have something else I want to tell you!"
It was Liu's voice. Wan Shu stopped and turned around: "Is there anything else, Second Sister-in-law?"
Liu gave a shrewd smile: "Actually, it's nothing serious, just about Baozhu's wages..."
Seeing the shrewd smile on Liu's face, Wan's father, Wan's mother, Wan's two brothers, and even Zhou all thought that Liu was up to no good again. Seeing that Wan Shu was easy to talk to, they were greedy and wanted to give Baozhu more wages.
After all, the eldest son's family had three children, who could earn sixty coins a day, while the second son's family only had one child, Baozhu, who could earn money.
Knowing Liu's nature, she'll definitely make a huge fuss about this.
But what Liu said next surprised everyone.
"As for Baozhu's wages, ten coins a day is enough for you, little sister. As for the remaining ten coins, I would like you to let her attend some classes when you have time. Consider these ten coins as my tuition fee."
Mother Wan was immediately shocked: "Second daughter-in-law, have you lost your mind? It's one thing for Shu'er to have money, and it's another for Er Ya and Si Ya to spend money on their education, but what about you? What do you have? You can't even get enough to eat right now, what's the point of sending a little girl to school!"
Wan Quan also said, "What are you doing, messing around like this?!"
Zhou was somewhat displeased. She was a straightforward person and didn't hide her displeasure; she spoke her mind directly.
“The wages earned by the children will all be confiscated. If half of their wages are lost, half of the money confiscated will also be lost. Isn’t this just making everyone pay for Baozhu’s education?”
I originally wanted to take advantage of the situation, but I didn't expect to be caught red-handed by my sister-in-law.
Liu was furious, but since she had already discovered it, there was nothing she could do. She could only say, "I will make up for the missing money with our second branch's own money!"
She'd rather pay out of her own pocket to send a little girl to school... Liu has truly lost her mind!
Everyone in the courtyard thought so, except for Wan Shu, who cast an admiring glance at Liu Shi.
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